There's a shameful legacy of cities replacing transit service with unreliable microtransit and leaving riders in a lurch.

Montgomery, AL replaced its bus system with a dial-a-ride fleet in 1998. Fares doubled, ridership plummeted from 3,000/day to 200, and the subsidy remained the same.

New 196-unit housing project proposed for SF's Presidio. It's a very unique development led by the Presidio Trust and financed in part by US Treasury loans. Revenues from this fully market-rate project in a super desirable area would go toward supporting the park.
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/p...

Berkeley's transformation from one of the NIMBYest cities in California to one of the YIMBYest is a major arc in my book.

In 2022, Berkeley completed more new homes than it did in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s combined.

Rents there have been mostly flat in recent years.

Really enjoyed talking to Adam Shanks at the @sfexaminer.bsky.social (my old paper!) about "The Unfinished Metropolis."

It was interesting to reflect on how growing up in San Franciscan informed my thesis about the stagnation of American cities.

www.sfexaminer.com/news/urban-d...

A tale of two rezonings:

The now-passed SB 79 would raise height limits across more of SF than the proposed Family Zoning Plan.

But the Family Zoning plan, which nullifies SB 79 in the affected areas, allows much greater heights in some places, like Van Ness, the Castro, and Glen Park.

I'll be co-hosting a book launch party for "The Unfinished Metropolis" with @abundanceny.bsky.social in Brooklyn on October 21st!

RSVP here: luma.com/r9fvqd8k

As with all things transit, Canada could show a better way for addressing 'fiscal cliffs.'

Vancouver's Translink is mandated to spread costs across all the beneficiaries of a great transit system: riders, drivers, land owners, and the broader economy.

www.planetizen.com/features/136...

CA high-speed rail is at a crossroads after securing the biggest funding commitment in the project's history.

My take on where things stand now:

benjaminschneider.substack.com/p/can-califo...

Very interesting essay! I especially appreciated this dissection of urban studies and urbanism.

Urban studies is an academic discipline rooted in critique of power structures.

Urbanism is associated with practitioners or "passionate outside observers" analyzing the lived experience of cities.

It includes deep dives into:

🏗️ Single-stair architecture
🏙️ Social housing
🚉 Automated metros
🚄 High-speed rail
🚲 Micromobility
🛍️ Downtown revitalization
🚧 Freeway removal
🌆 15-minute suburbs

... and illustrations by the incomparable Alfred Twu.

Handsome new duplex in Noe Valley

This is the best rejoinder to the Abundance Agenda that I've seen so far, from @davidzipper.bsky.social

We should be thoughtful about what should be more abundant (trains) and what should be less abundant (cars).

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

For the next phase of the project, developers have approval to build a 910 foot supertall tower across the street from Barclays Center at the vacant Modells Sports site.

That would preserve Barclays' main plaza as is, instead of it being developed as a high rise.

Fascinating update on the massive Pacific Park development in downtown Brooklyn from @citylimitsnews.bsky.social.

Full buildout is halfway done with 3,200 units complete, including 1,400 below market rate, mostly middle income . The project is way behind schedule...
citylimits.org/brooklyns-st...

Final height is still TBD, depending on specific development proposals.

NYC EDC has mocked up a tower of about 550 feet.

NYC's plans for redeveloping the last industrial corner of the Meatpacking District:

— 600 foot tower with 600 homes, half below market rate
— Uses a "cross subsidy" model; gives developer free land in exchange for high levels of affordability
— Whitney Museum expansion

That would imply CAHSR's next focus will be the Bakersfield to Palmdale segment, as well as the High Desert Corridor.

Those links would create a useful high-speed rail spine with connecting trains to the Bay Area and Sacramento on one end, and LA on the other.

The CA Rail Plan is finally out. It's hugely ambitious at a time of great uncertainty.

By 2050, it envisions high-speed rail stretching not just to SF, LA, & LV, but to Oakland, SD, Sac, & Arizona.

It also calls for 1,500 miles of electrified track and a 2nd transbay tube.

Interesting robotaxi data from SFMTA:

—Waymo saw massive ridership growth over the summer, totaling 273K rides in August. (Cruise had way mo problems with far fewer rides.)

—Waymo trips are heavily concentrated in SF's most central, transit-accessible neighborhoods.